Relocating vs. hunting elk

Hunting the only option??? Think Again!!!! I have been reading and listening for weeks about the possible hunt (if you want to call shooting nearly tame elk…..a hunt) that Estes Park is planning for it’s overpopulated elk herd. Am I the only one that thinks this is absurd?? With the many areas of Colorado and surrounding states devastated by fire the last few years, I don’t understand why the idea of relocating the “problem” elk to an area which has lost much of it’s wildlife, is not at the top of the list.

Why is killing an animal, who has lost it’s fear of humans, the only plan that is being discussed, at least in the forums available to me. If you would do some research about other options, you may find better ideas. Relocating large herds has been done before, and could be a viable answer to this problem that Estes Park has found itself in. (example:relocating the wild horse herds ) Why do we, the people that keep encroaching into the wildlifes domain, find it so easy to just “clean house”, when faced with a problem……lets think it through, and find a better option…and keep on top of this “over population” before it becomes such a problem AGAIN.

Read Susan’s post, and she needs to research animal behavior. Growing up in Ohio, I hunted animals and observed habits. Like humans, they have own territory and will return to it, if possible.Lynx from Canada promptly head back north and most die far away from release site. Elk, Moose, and Bison will adapt if, and only if habitat is sufficient to feed and shelter them. The burned off forests don’thave much to offer for years to large animals. And just where should we “relocate” these animals too. Terrain has changed since the 1800 era, and even wolves or grizzlies have not migrated back to Colorado. And I doubt ranchers will welcome them being released on their property. Killing an animal and consuming it is more humane than letting it die of starvation. And the hunters made our soldiers ready for combat by time they landed off ships in Combat areas during WWII. That was the factor a German General was quoted after the war as stating where Germany under-estimated the U.S. soldier.

Frank25

Read Susan’s post, and she needs to research animal behavior. Growing up in Ohio, I hunted animals and observed habits. Like humans, they have own territory and will return to it, if possible.Lynx from Canada promptly head back north and most die far away from release site. Elk, Moose, and Bison will adapt if, and only if habitat is sufficient to feed and shelter them. The burned off forests don’thave much to offer for years to large animals. And just where should we “relocate” these animals too. Terrain has changed since the 1800 era, and even wolves or grizzlies have not migrated back to Colorado. And I doubt ranchers will welcome them being released on their property. Killing an animal and consuming it is more humane than letting it die of starvation. And the hunters made our soldiers ready for combat by time they landed off ships in Combat areas during WWII. That was the factor a German General was quoted after the war as stating where Germany under-estimated the U.S. soldier.

heehaw

Reloacating is incredibly expensive. If you want to use your money to relocate them then thats fine, but I want my tax dollars used the most economical way and that is hunting. So what if they are almost tame, so are cattle, pigs, chickens etc. etc.

heehaw

Reloacating is incredibly expensive. If you want to use your money to relocate them then thats fine, but I want my tax dollars used the most economical way and that is hunting. So what if they are almost tame, so are cattle, pigs, chickens etc. etc.

elkman

Susan, you need to get your facts straight and learn a little more about elk biology. First of all, there are plenty of elk throughout the state. Relocating elk to another area will just relocate the over-population problem. Your solution merely pushes the Estes Park problem onto someone else. Secondly, wildfires actually help, not hurt, elk. After a wildfire has cleared out the trees (many of them deadfall), lots of vegetation such as grasses (a/k/a elk food) quickly sprout up in the burn area. Hunters know that lsat year’s wildfire burn area is this year’s prime elk hunting grounds. Finally, the overpopulation of elk has led to problems such as Chronic Wasting Disease. Ask yourself which is more cruel – being harvested humanely by a hunter, or wasting away from disease and starvation? I agree that we need to stay on top of the overpopulation problem, but simply moving the problem somewhere else is not a solution.

elkman

Susan, you need to get your facts straight and learn a little more about elk biology. First of all, there are plenty of elk throughout the state. Relocating elk to another area will just relocate the over-population problem. Your solution merely pushes the Estes Park problem onto someone else. Secondly, wildfires actually help, not hurt, elk. After a wildfire has cleared out the trees (many of them deadfall), lots of vegetation such as grasses (a/k/a elk food) quickly sprout up in the burn area. Hunters know that lsat year’s wildfire burn area is this year’s prime elk hunting grounds. Finally, the overpopulation of elk has led to problems such as Chronic Wasting Disease. Ask yourself which is more cruel – being harvested humanely by a hunter, or wasting away from disease and starvation? I agree that we need to stay on top of the overpopulation problem, but simply moving the problem somewhere else is not a solution.

Laura

I totally agree with Susan’s comments. We humans encroach on the animal’s territory, then kill anything that gets in our way. I am sure the hunters, good ol’ boys boozing it up in the woods for a day with nature, just love this idea, especially since it’s probably easy to shoot and hit a tame deer while you are drunk. Hopefully some of the more sensible citizens in the area will stand up and demand relocation for these animals. They just need a home to call their own, since it’s apparent the humans in the area don’t want to share their space.

Laura

I totally agree with Susan’s comments. We humans encroach on the animal’s territory, then kill anything that gets in our way. I am sure the hunters, good ol’ boys boozing it up in the woods for a day with nature, just love this idea, especially since it’s probably easy to shoot and hit a tame deer while you are drunk. Hopefully some of the more sensible citizens in the area will stand up and demand relocation for these animals. They just need a home to call their own, since it’s apparent the humans in the area don’t want to share their space.

Beck

Nothing says inferiority complex like hunting.

Beck

Nothing says inferiority complex like hunting.

Paul Dupont

Laura, no hunter I have ever known goes out into the woods drunk.

Paul Dupont

Laura, no hunter I have ever known goes out into the woods drunk.

marge

Susan,

I understand you have high motives in asking to relocate elk, but prehaps you whould think this through a bit more. Chronic Wasting Disease is thought by many to have been brought to Colorado by farmed elk and spread to the wild populatons. Moving animals with that disease potential is NOT a good thing.

Also you might want to look at the elk mortality rate for relocation. It is higher than you might think. Colorado has a lot of elk, but not a lot of prime habitat which doesn’t already have a healthy population of its own.

Moving elk out of state gets back into the sticky possiblity of spreading communicable diseases into the elk, deer and possibly other domestic livestock populations.

The elk may have human adapted in RMNP, but getting shot at will fix that human adaptation and get the elk back to being elk, not cows with antlers.

if you think hunters are by nature fat old guys who swill beer, I would suggest you take a hunter safety course to find out what hunters are all about. Should you run into slob hunters, call your local DOW hotline, rather than fume about it. Most of us who hunt or have hunted are out there to fill our freezers, not to get a trophy rack.

We are also painfully aware of the need for protected habitat since we have a steadily increasing human population who want to put houses on that same habitat.

marge

Susan,

I understand you have high motives in asking to relocate elk, but prehaps you whould think this through a bit more. Chronic Wasting Disease is thought by many to have been brought to Colorado by farmed elk and spread to the wild populatons. Moving animals with that disease potential is NOT a good thing.

Also you might want to look at the elk mortality rate for relocation. It is higher than you might think. Colorado has a lot of elk, but not a lot of prime habitat which doesn’t already have a healthy population of its own.

Moving elk out of state gets back into the sticky possiblity of spreading communicable diseases into the elk, deer and possibly other domestic livestock populations.

The elk may have human adapted in RMNP, but getting shot at will fix that human adaptation and get the elk back to being elk, not cows with antlers.

if you think hunters are by nature fat old guys who swill beer, I would suggest you take a hunter safety course to find out what hunters are all about. Should you run into slob hunters, call your local DOW hotline, rather than fume about it. Most of us who hunt or have hunted are out there to fill our freezers, not to get a trophy rack.

We are also painfully aware of the need for protected habitat since we have a steadily increasing human population who want to put houses on that same habitat.

Pauly

Marge,

You need to do some research on CWD. As of yet nobody knows where it came from or how it spreads. It’s not isolated to just elk, but rather several other species have this disease.

So, your theory in killing the elk to prevent CWD would be to kill all the elk until the last one standing is the one without CWD…and away from other types of animals who can contract CWD.

Susan,

Dick Chaney was when he shot that old lawyer in the face. You may ask how I know. Well, if I shot somebody in the face during a hunting trip and beer was known to be served at the meal prior, and I ran. The Judge would assume the worst and throw the book at me…and you to.

Pauly

Marge,

You need to do some research on CWD. As of yet nobody knows where it came from or how it spreads. It’s not isolated to just elk, but rather several other species have this disease.

So, your theory in killing the elk to prevent CWD would be to kill all the elk until the last one standing is the one without CWD…and away from other types of animals who can contract CWD.

Susan,

Dick Chaney was when he shot that old lawyer in the face. You may ask how I know. Well, if I shot somebody in the face during a hunting trip and beer was known to be served at the meal prior, and I ran. The Judge would assume the worst and throw the book at me…and you to.

Pauly

I just got back fro some great land here in Colorado where they could be relocated to. And the cost could be subdivided amongst all the hunters in a form of more expensive hunting licenses. Would it cost a lot? Heck Ya. But that why you guys hunt. To save the animals…right?

Frank25,

You make a good point except that elk are not migratory animals, they are grazers and much of Colorado would be more than suitable for them. Elk would not inattentively return to Estes…where would you get that from?!? But you are right in the fact that where they would go would need to have enough foliage for foraging and shelter.

Pauly

I just got back fro some great land here in Colorado where they could be relocated to. And the cost could be subdivided amongst all the hunters in a form of more expensive hunting licenses. Would it cost a lot? Heck Ya. But that why you guys hunt. To save the animals…right?

Frank25,

You make a good point except that elk are not migratory animals, they are grazers and much of Colorado would be more than suitable for them. Elk would not inattentively return to Estes…where would you get that from?!? But you are right in the fact that where they would go would need to have enough foliage for foraging and shelter.

Angie

As a frequent visitor to RMNP for the last 3 years, I can honestly say the greatest experience I come away with after visiting the park is seeing the numerous elk wandering around the park. It is a privilege to be able to observe something so closely in it’s natural environment. The bull elk are so massive and beautiful! When in rut, it is so exciting to hear the bugles and observe their behaviors. This year (2007) I have not seen as many elk in the park as previous years and it has been disappointing. I find that very strange. I know that I am not alone in thinking one of the most exciting things about visiting the park is seeing the wildlife. I think it is a shame that the government waits until it is too late to fix a problem and thinks the only answer is just to kill ’em off, after all that’s the cheapest way…ahhhhhh the American way.

Angie

As a frequent visitor to RMNP for the last 3 years, I can honestly say the greatest experience I come away with after visiting the park is seeing the numerous elk wandering around the park. It is a privilege to be able to observe something so closely in it’s natural environment. The bull elk are so massive and beautiful! When in rut, it is so exciting to hear the bugles and observe their behaviors. This year (2007) I have not seen as many elk in the park as previous years and it has been disappointing. I find that very strange. I know that I am not alone in thinking one of the most exciting things about visiting the park is seeing the wildlife. I think it is a shame that the government waits until it is too late to fix a problem and thinks the only answer is just to kill ’em off, after all that’s the cheapest way…ahhhhhh the American way.

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